Musical reed



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN C. BRIGGS, OF WOODBURY, CONNECTICUT.

MUSICAL REED.

Specification of Letters latent No. 28,060, dated May 1, 1860.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOI-IN C. BRIGcs, of Voodbury, in the county of Litchfield and State of Connecticut, have invented an Improvenient in Reed Musical Instruments, and do hereby declare the same to be fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure l is a top view of a melodeon reed and its socketed plate formed or made in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is an end view. Figs. 3 and l are opposite edge views, while Figs. 5 and 6 are longitudinal and Fig. 7, an underside view of the same.

In the said drawings A denotes a reed and B its socketed supporting plate.

In melodeons, it is common to impart to the reed at its heel a lateral twist, such as will cause one edge of its bottom or under surface to rise a little above the top surface of the reed plate. This heel bend of the reed I employ, but at or near the toe of the reed I again twist the reed so as not only to bring to or nearly to a level with the top surface of the reed plate, that corner of the toe of the reed which is next to the raised edge but to raise the other corner of the toe above such surface.

In the drawings, Z) shows the raised, and c, the depressed edge of the reed, a being the depressed corner while cl is the raised corner of the toe.

Close to the toe of the reed and against the side edge of it, I make in the reed plate B a notch or indentation c, for leading air down into the reed opening g. The purpose of this notch is to allow a large iiow of wind to act close or near to the toe of the reed, it having been found to increase and improve the tone of the reed. It makes the tone more round and in other respects better. These indentations may be arranged on both edges of the reed, as shown at o, f, in Fig. l. lVhen two are used, that one which is against the edge c of the reed should be rather less in size than the other because the corner (Z of the reed being tipped up above the reed plate while the corner a is on a level with its top surface, the opening f should be necessarily less than the opening e, in order to have an equal iiow of air through each.

Then the reed is made with three twists as described, the tone is found to be greatly improved with respect to what it is with the reed having the heel twist only.

l. I claim making the reed with the heel and toe twists substantially as described.

2. I also claim making the reed plate with one or more wind indentations or notches against the raised edge of the reed and with respect to the reed opening as specified, and when they are arranged on opposite sides of the toe of the reed and one corner of the toe is elevated above the other corner as described.

3. I claim making that notch which is next to the elevated corner of less size than the other for the purpose of equalizing or approximately equalizing the discharge of wind against opposite adges of the toe of the reed.

J. C. BRIGGS.

lVitnesses R. H. EDDY, F. P. HALE, Jr. 

